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Adrien Broner is too old to keep up with Manny Pacquiao, says Freddie Roach

Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach believes that Adrien Broner 33-3-1 (24) will struggle to keep up with the pace of his charge Manny Pacquiao 60-7-2 (39) when the duo meet at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday night.

This is despite the 29-year-old Cincinnati native maintaining an 11-year age advantage over the Filipino veteran, who turned 40 last month.

The difference, says Roach, is due to Broner’s behaviours away from the gym.

“Even at 29, Broner is too old to keep blowing up in weight between fights. It’s taken a toll on his body and his psychology,” Roach said to Fightnews. “He should be fighting at 135 or 140 pounds, but he lacks discipline. It’s obvious to me he has no confidence in his conditioning.”

Coach Roach isn’t expecting Broner to come out firing despite his big talk ahead of the fight.

“There is no way he is going to go for it against Manny because he’s afraid he’ll run out of gas too early in the fight,” added Roach. “Broner may fight to survive and try to lay traps for Manny to come in so he can counterpunch Manny, but we’re prepared for that.”

Pacquiao’s superb conditioning will be the difference in the fight according to the Wild Card Boxing Club’s head coach.

“Manny still plays basketball for up to four hours at a time. There is no way Broner will be able to keep up with Manny’s conditioning and stamina,” continued Roach.

“Throughout training camp Manny has said he wants the knockout. I love hearing him say that. He’s never said that before. Manny is going to shoot the works on Saturday night. Look for a vintage performance. A heroic performance.”

The bout will mark the first time Pacquiao has fought in the United States in more than two years after knocking out Argentinean banger Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last year and dropping a close decision to big Brisbane welterweight Jeff Horn in Australia in 2017.